Mobile devices are currently in wide use. In fact, handheld mobile devices are gaining wide use, very quickly. Such handheld mobile devices include cellular telephones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, handheld multimedia players with network connectivity, etc.
These types of devices are increasingly being used by workers who work away from the office. One recent survey shows that over half (approximately 65%) of workers in the United States work away from the office to some degree. This number is expected to rise to over 80% in the very near future. Similarly, some trends show that of those people that work away from the office, a decreasing percent of them are performing work on desktop computers, and an increasing percent of them are performing work on a handheld mobile device.
In performing work away from the office, many users need to access business data on a business data system maintained by their work organization. Such business data systems are sometimes referred to as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. In general ERP systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization. Various types of information include finance and accounting information, manufacturing information, sales and service information, customer relationship management information, and other business information. ERP systems automate business activity related to this type of information using an integrated software application. ERP systems often attempt to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the organization, and to manage the connections to interested parties that reside outside the organization. ERP systems, while they can run on a wide variety of different hardware and different network configurations, often include a data store that serves as a repository for the business information. The system generally operates in real-time (or near real-time).
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.